Street-sweeper.



No. 884.421. PATENTED APR. 14, 1908.

M. v. RUFF. STREET SWEEPERP APPLICATION FILED J UNE 28. 1906.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

WITNESSES; [/WE/vm/e A TTORNE Y5 PATENTED APR. 14, 1908. M. v. RUFF.

STREET SWEBPBR.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 28,1906. I

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

W/ZYVESSES:

4 A TTOR/VE VS v [NI/ENTOR,

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of that; character adapted to be attached to the rear end of a dump wagon, and the sweep- Which are arranged the front and rear axles 2 erably made solid from a point adjacent the MATHEW V. RUFF, OF SMYRNA, GEORGIA.

STREET-SWEEPER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

' Patented April 14, 1908.

Application filed June 28, 1906. \Seria1 No. 323,757.

T all who/rt it may concern: Be it known that l, )brrnnw Rrrr, a citizen of the lnited States, residing at Smyrna, in the county of (ebb and State of Georgia, have invented a new and useful Street-Sweeper, of which .the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a street sweeper mgs are conveyed continuously during the movement of the wagon by an endless belt that elevates the sweepings from the street and dumps the same into the wagon.

The invention has for one of its objects to provide a machine of this character which is of simple and inexpensive constriu-tion, efficient and easy to operate and includes a minimum of power transmitting connections, I so that friction and the useless consumption of power is considerably reduced, or avoided.

lVith this object in. view, and others, as will appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the invention comprises the various novel features of construction and arrangement of parts, which will be more. fully described hereinafter and set forth wit h particularity in the claims appended hereto.

1n the accompanying drawings, which illustrate one of the embodiments of the invention. Figure is a side elevation of the apparatus in operation, portions of the frame thereof being brokr n away for the purpos of illustration. Fig. 2 isa plan view with a portion of thecasingof the apparatus broken away. Fig. 3 is a detail elevation showing one manner of yieldingly sil'miiii-tiilg the ends of the main brush.

Correspoinling parts in the several figures are indicated throughoutby similar characters of referencef Referring to the drawings, A designates the frame of the sweeper at opposite ends of and 3. .lntcrnw-diate the axles, and arranged With its shaft l parallel to the latter, is a main rotary brooni orbrush 5', thc'ends of the shaft thereof being mounted in the main frame A at the sides ti thereof. The sides (i are prefrear of the broom 5 to the front, so as to pre Vent dirt and dust from being swept out- Wardly in a. lateral direction from the machine. At the rear of the brush, the sides (3 are ipset, as indicated at. 7, so as to permit the rear wheels 8 of the neat-rhino to )0 set in so eepings from the gutters.

E or disposed behind the drum. This permits the machine to be run close along the curbstone withoutthe adjacent rear wheel interfering. so that the gutters of the street can also be cleaned by the machine, thereby cloing away with the manual cleaning of the The main brush 5 is :n-lapted to be driven by the rear wheels or axle, so that the draft of the wagon may be employed as a motive power. For this pur pose, one or more sprocket and chain drives are employed, each comprising a large sprocket wheel on the end of the rear axle, designated by 9, and a chain 10 COGPCI'fiflng therewith, which rotates the main brush by means of a small sprocket 11 on the shaft thereof. By this means, the main broom is driven at a relatively high speed.

In order to keep the main brush clean and prevent dirt from being carried over to the rear thereby, an auxiliary rotary brush i2 is provided at a point slightly above and in front of the main brush, the bristles of both brushes being in contact. By preference, the auxiliary brush is rotated by the, same sprocket chain employed to actuate the main brush, which chain is so guided as to rotate the auxiliary brush in the same direction .as the main brush. The ends of the shaft 14 of the auxiliary brush are provided with sprockets 15 meshing with the sprocket chains it). The sprocket chain'1t) passes in the direction indicated by the arrows adjacent thereto from the top of the large sprocket 9, forwardly and downwardly under the s )rocket H, and then forwardly and upwardly over the s ')rocket 15, whence it passes rearwardly and downwardly to the. large sprocket i), so that, as the apparatus is drawn forwardly by the wagon, the two brushes will rotate in a clockwise. direction around their shafts and thereby produce movements in opposite directions at their point of contact. it will thus be seen that the auxiliary drum will prevent dirt or other trash adhering to the brush and swee) the same off in a forward direction. As shown in Fig.2, the sprockets ofthe brooms and a portion of the sprocket chain are disposed inside the main frame, theside 6 thus 'orming a shield for the. drives.

The sweepings from the main broom, and also from the auxiliary broom, are deposited on an endless conveyor arranged at the front of the machine and extending; upwardly in an inclined direction, so as to project at its tipwhich latter is designated by B, Fig. 1.

of the frame A. The exterior surface of the apron. is provided with a lurality of spaced strips 20 which form poc ets for collecting the sweepings. The conveyer receives its motion dlrectly from the front axle 2 and independently of the rear axle. In other words, the conveyer is driven by the front wheels 21 fixed on the axle 2, thereby simplifying considerably the driving mechanisms of the machine. The upper end of the extension 18 where it projects over the wagonis provided with a discharge mouth 22 by which the conveyer can discharge into the wagon.

Arranged between the lower end of the conveyer and the main brush in an inclined osition, and extending across the machine, is a deflecting plate or guide for assisting the dischargeof the sweepings from the main broom to the conveyer. The plate may be supported in any desired manner, as for instance, by being pivoted at its ends on the inner surface of the sides 6, as indicated at 24. The plate is preferably pivotally mounted so as to permit the lower edge to be raised or lowered bycoming in contact with unevennesses in the street. The plate is supported in an inclined position by resting on stops 25 formed by projections or pins extending inwardly from sides 6 of the frame.

As shown in Fig. 3, the main brush and broom 5 is supptprted with the ends of its shaft in bearing locks 26 that are guided in a vertical direction in slots 27 in the sides 6 of the frame. On opposite sides of each block are helical springs 28 which permit the broom 5'to move booily upward or to rise and fall at either end so as to accommodate itself to changes in'the surface of the street. By means of the screw and nut adjusting device 29, the broom can be adjusted from time to time as it wears away.

From the fore oing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the advantages of the construction and of the method of operation will be readily understood and ap reciated by those skilled in the art to which t 1e invention ap ertains.

I have described the princ1 le of operation of the invention, together wit the apparatus. which I now consider to be the'bestembodiment thereof, but I desire to have, it understood that the apparatus shown is merely illustrative and that various changes may be made, when desired, as are within the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

A street sweeper comprising a casing and a neck extending therefrom, sweepin mechanism housed by the casin and .mcfu main and an auxiliary brus a conveyer arranged within the neck and Within the casing, a deflecting plate pivotally supported in an inclined position by the casing and extending from the main brush to a point adjacent to the conveyer, the lower edge of the plate being designed to contact with the surface over which the sweeper is moved, means for limiting the downward movement of the plate, extensions projecting from the casing, a shaft su ported by the extensions, traction and sprocket wheels carried by the shaft and lying within the lanes of the sides of the casing, and sproc et chain connections be tween the sprocket wheels and sweeping mechanism, said chain con nections being so guided as to rotate the auxiliary brush in the same direction as the main brush.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as ding a my own, 1 have hereto affixed my signature 7 in the presence of two witnesses.

MATHEW v. RUFF. Witnesses:

S. J. IRELAN, P. M. RIcE. 

